Style at Home: Let the sun shine in: Accent your decor with yellow

By Mary Carol GarrityMcClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Friday

Jan 31, 2014 at 3:27 PMJan 31, 2014 at 3:28 PM

Do you have an emotional response to a particular color? I do, with the color yellow. Yellow makes me think of my mom. All through my growing up years, Mom had a beautiful yellow bedroom, with soft yellow walls and yellow floral drapes. There is nothing like crawling into your momís bed, feeling safe and secure and loved. Thatís how I feel when I see a yellow room, all warm and fuzzy inside.Maybe thatís why I got so excited about friends Julie and Marcís vision for their home, one accentuated throughout with pops and splashes of yellow. Whether you prefer a shade of thatís soft and buttery, or one that is as brilliant as the summer sun, this warm, happy color is an ideal accent color. Here are three tips for welcoming yellow into your home.FIND THE PERFECT PAIRINGYellow is a very amiable tone that makes a perfect partner for lots of different colors, from cool to warm hues. Right now, we are loving yellow paired with shades of gray, from gunmetal to dove.Julie gravitated toward a perky canary yellow as she began envisioning how she would decorate her reconstructed country home. Since her tone was bright and bold, she knew she would need to focus it in a few high-impact spots throughout her home, bungling it with quieter shades of gray, cream and white. Even though yellow just makes just a few appearances, saved for smaller pieces of furniture, trims and accents, it really steals the show in this room, making it warm and inviting.Gray not your thing? Yellow also is blissful with blue and with a grayed brown.Yellow plays an even smaller, but just as important, role in Julie and Marcís bedroom. Although they are few, these dollops of yellow on the bed, windows and chairs snap, crackle and pop in this serene gray and white room.The drapes are to-die-for, with a crisp and clean medallion print that artfully straddles traditional and contemporary styling. Iím all about trim on drapes ó itís what makes custom window coverings second to none. A little flat flange in sunny yellow linen is like a ray piercing through the storm clouds.FIND AN INSPIRATION PIECEIf youíre not sure where to start when introducing yellow into your home, look for an inspiration piece. Maybe itís a painting you love, a rug or a fabric pattern. For Julie, inspiration for this lovely room came from a killer yellow, gray and cream fabric. She used it for the Roman shades that grace the floor-to-ceiling windows so you get a glimpse of it everywhere you turn. Once she lost her heart to this inspiration fabric, the room naturally evolved from there as she selected companion fabrics and furnishings.As we started pulling together additional fabric that wove in our theme colors of yellow, gray and cream, Julie knew she had to have something in this kicky pattern. Since the color and pattern are so bold, she knew this fabric had to be used in smaller doses, creating a visual spotlight on a few key pieces of furniture.Itís perfect on matched wingbacks, transforming the plain old corners of the room, which could easily be lost space, into arresting focal points. When the room isnít in use, the chairs are like artwork. When she entertains, Julie can pull the chairs forward into the intimate conversation area surrounding the fireplace.We picked up a few more exclamation points of yellow through this yellow, gray and white striped lumbar pillow on the gray and cream houndstooth upholstered wing chairs in Julie and Marcís bedroom. On their bed, a gorgeous re-envisioned floral with a sprinkling of yellow adds a little zip to this snowy white, blissful ensemble.CREATE LAYERS OF TONESIím not a very matchy-matchy person, so I really enjoy layering different shades of colors. Yellow comes in such a wonderful assortment, itís a natural. Donít be afraid to mix together tones that span the spectrum, from chartreuse to gold.One of my favorite places to introduce a bold pattern and color is on an upholstered ottoman, like this smartly tailored tufted ottoman that serves as a coffee table and, in a pinch, added seating. Transitional fabrics like this edgy plaid are an ideal way to keep traditional decor fresh and new. It reimagines a timeless classic for today.Another great way to bring in an accent color is through an inexpensive flat weave area rug. One of our tricks at my Nell Hillís home furnishings store is to layer a smaller, bolder rug on top of a larger natural fiber rug. It stretches the decorating dollars farther: The larger natural fiber rug is a great buy and allows you to get a smaller size in the accent rug. This flat weave in Julieís living room is a perfect pick because it brightens the floor space with a screen of warm yellow and cream, another tread that makes this room shine.Julie and Marc used pops of yellow throughout their home. In this cheerful bedroom, a yellow quilt mixes in with the bedding ensemble to add brilliance that doesnít overwhelm. The yellow ceramic accent lamp, with its clean lines and full-throttle tone, doesnít have to be turned on to make the bedside table brilliant. Lamps offer another excellent opportunity to introduce strong accent colors to your room.This column was adapted from Mary Carol Garrityís blog at www.nellhills.com. She can be reached at marycarol@nellhills.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.